Homecoming Queen
by berryboom
Summary: She learns pain that one day in the forest, in her past. But in her future, nothing remains but death. Her shadow is back. And it won't stop—until it has bloodied its own hands. [SasuSaku]
1. Prelude

**Disclaimer: Fantasies usually don't come true, so yeah, I don't own Naruto.**

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_Something of vengeance I had tasted for the first time; as aromatic wine it seemed, on swallowing, warm and racy: its after-flavor, metallic and corroding, gave me a sensation as if I had been poisoned."_

Bronte, Charlotte

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**PR_ELU_DE**

_6th__ January, 2012._

Footsteps.

They copied her movements, stopping when she stopped and resuming when she did.

Fear clogged her throat, causing such a suffocation that she breathed harshly, trying to take in as much air as possible however noise she created, despite her decision not to make a sound.

Her eyes darted back and forth across the shady, deserted alley. Murky shadows stretched out in front of the short walls, merging together incoherently. The wilting plants lining the walk swayed gently in the night breeze.

The place was empty.

She deliberated for a second, clenching her hand tightly around the strap of her bag, and looked far up at the dark velvet scattered with twinkling stars, that provided the only glow in the lane – there was no moon tonight.

The dim streetlamp flickered feebly once…and then died.

She gasped involuntarily, and backed a few steps. For a moment there was total blackness in front of eyes; the sinister milieu raised the hairs on the back of her neck, and sent a chill down her spine.

_Crunch –_

There came the sound she had been anticipating fearfully – sound of a crackling, wilted leaf being crushed beneath a foot.

She turned around and ran.

She knew in the deep recesses of her mind that someone was pursuing her, but aside from the noise of her overexerted breaths and her scampering feet, there was nothing else, however much she strained her ears for it.

She rounded a corner, and sprinted headlong along the dusty walk, searching blindly for a speck of light to appear, indicating that she had reached civilization.

She indeed stepped into a dim light after a moment, but it was merely a fluctuating streetlamp once again, and it just revealed that the path was extending onwards.

She slowed her pace as she neared the lamp pole, which was dangerously tilted to one side. Her eyes found nothing again as they circled around the shadowy alley. There were too many places to hide and to camouflage completely…advantageous for her, as well as any chaser.

She took a deep breath. _I_ _may as well have been imagining things_, she thought.

And then she froze.

Her dark shadow stretched out on the sidewalk, motionless. As she watched, another silhouette ghosted forward, slowly, slowly, until it was right beside hers, quite still.

She was too terrified to turn around, and she just watched with wide, fearful eyes as the shadows merged together.

The figure touched her back.

She gasped and spun around – smack into the front of the body.

Her face smashed on the man's hard-muscled and rock-hard chest, and before she could do anything, strong hands grasped her waist brusquely and firmly.

Her screech was muffled into the fabric stretched on the man's torso.

"I've got her."

She didn't recognize the deep, booming voice.

Footsteps drew towards her, getting louder as they approached. The man whirled her around, with only one hand now trained on her left shoulder.

The tall, statuesque figure with billowing, fiery hair was now eye to eye with her, and she could not misinterpret the wild excitement on the white face, eerie in the dark, nor the contemptuous guise in the fierce-looking eyes.

"_You_ -!"

A sharp palm whipped across her cheek before she could complete her sentence; the impact was so sudden that her knees knocked out beneath her and she dived headfirst into the ground. The hand on her shoulder vanished, and her torso met the dirt, followed by her head.

Pain shot like a current through her, as the tiny, prickly particles on the ground dug into the half-bare skin of her arms, and her face mashed into the dirt and pebbles.

A sob escaped her throat.

She braced a hand on the ground and kneeled on all fours, gasping in ache and bewilderment, while her other palm was against her sore mouth. She felt a sticky liquid seeping through her fingers and staining the rock-strewn ground. Blood.

Someone giggled – a feminine, memorable voice.

"Come on." The wild one said.

Fingers grabbed her throat, yanked her roughly from the ground, and shoved against her so that she stumbled forward. It was the man, no doubt.

She staggered in the alley, and at that precise moment, the lamplight died.

What perfect timing!

The people on her side didn't notice; however, their feet gained speed and they pushed her through the dark alley, further and further until the path grew more and more indiscernible: wounding into a narrow aisle leading to the woods.

The woods behind the alley. She had always been afraid of those woods, and the reason was not any kind of creatures or frightening mammals. Of course not. No animal roamed this forest. It was still, unnatural. Like a deceased woodland. Like a place fittest for the dead.

She had not meant to, but a terrified squeak made its way out of her mouth. She clamped her bloody hand on her mouth to keep from making any noise that would motivate her capturers further.

Her precaution was futile, as the group didn't notice. With quick steps they ascended into the dark assemblage of trees, unafraid and unbothered.

She went along with them, considering that the hands trained on her were now tighter, and impossible to escape; they were so strong.

Goosebumps erupted on her arms and legs as they walked in, twigs snapping underneath their feet, the only sound interrupting the unearthly silence in the forest. She closed her eyes as the violent hands guided her forward, and tried not to let her imagination go astray.

But she came up with the worst-case scenario imaginable.

_They are going to kill me here in the dark_.

"You guys…do what you say, don't you."

She snapped back to reality, where they now stood underneath an arch made by two gigantic old trees, their branches forking over and meeting with each other in tangles. She strained to observe in the gloom, and made out a dark, regular shape: a tiny, perfect black cube, set among the wild grass and flowers, half-hidden among the looming trees, their boughs like creeping hands over the roof and most of the side walls.

In another place, the cabin would have looked like something out of a fairytale. But here in the shadows, it seemed like a sinister crypt.

Someone wearing a black cloak stood with his/her's back to them, gazing up at the cabin, the one who had just spoken. It was a shrill voice, high and trilling, and apparently of another girl's.

"Well…" One of the two stepped away from the just-arrived set, and proceeded towards the hut, intent on opening the door to it. "It just goes with our policy, if you know what I mean."

"Of course." A trilling laugh. Then the cloak-clad sobered up, and turned around to face them. Even though the hood partially hid the face, there was no mistaking about whom it belonged to.

She immediately recognized this person, as well as the one now pushing open the wooden door of the hut, which opened with a rattling of rusty hinges and squeaks. It seemed to be uninhabited by anyone for quite a while.

The next words made her breath hitch.

"Bring her in."

"No! _No_! Please!" She yelled hoarsely, now realizing the group's actual intention – to lock her inside that horrible, mysterious cabin. She thrashed, trying to ram her elbows into the rock-hard muscles behind her, stamping her foot on the hard boots, entirely on the offense, but in vain.

She couldn't make the man even _gasp_, let alone letting go of her.

The wild one with the fierce eyes, standing beside the man until now in suspicious silence, growled. It was a menacing sound, and that was all she heard before a _thump_.

She again hugged the dirt, her face sliding into moss and grime and it was even painful and degrading than before; the attacker's heavy boot had slammed onto her back. Her eyes rolled back into her head.

A shrill scream rent the air, and it was a moment until she realized it was hers. It made the attacker even more ferocious.

"Don't make a move, you bitch. It will just double on your _worthless_ hide!"

The contact lenses she had been wearing for the first time to replace her thick glasses, they were now smeared with dirt. The filth dirtied her eyes and irritated them; she had lost one of the lenses earlier, and the surviving one in the left now itched and clouded her field of vision even more.

They grabbed her hair and heaved her into the cabin.

She let them. She was helpless; she couldn't see well, and she wasn't strong enough to escape. Pain reared in her head as they dragged her over the rocky ground and inside the wooden floor of the hut.

She hit the back wall and whimpered again. Two sets of feet backed away from her a few feet, and stood motionless, watching.

The other two, females, kneeled in front of her, one of them still digging sharp nails into her scalp. She could feel their excited breathing, as they gazed at her, cowering in pain and fear.

The girl with flaming hair tightened hold over the poor captive's head and jerked it towards her knee. The other one grasped her wrists.

She wheezed, sobbing in extreme pain, but forced the words out of her mouth: "What – What are… you going to _do_?"

Two things gleamed spontaneously in the dark.

A grin. And then a flash of silver.

A blade...

The two in the audience clapped their hands.

...But it didn't hurt her.

Through her clouded vision she saw tendrils, hundreds of them, scatter on the floor, some in heaps and some in all directions. They rained down as the girl shook her knee and stood on her feet.

The other female let go of her wrists and watched her for a second. Then she smiled coldly, and the menace was visible even in the darkness. "That's what you get for even thinking about taking someone else's possessions, let alone making them yours."

The trilling voice added, "You don't get to the top when you're just the bottom of the heap, sweetie. Learn your lesson." She giggled shrilly again. "You'll have all the time and quiet for that here."

The sound of footsteps walking away from her, even though they were her enemies, they terrified her. She lurched upwards from her crouch, ignoring the throbbing in her head, and the stinging pain in her back and legs. Wisps of silk slid down her grimy shirt and met the other piles on the floor.

"Please! Don't leave me here! _No_! Please!"

She staggered towards the door, which was slowly closing with the same noisy squeaks. She just glimpsed the solemn faces in the dark, beautiful yet terrifying, hanging there like they had no body, their accusing, hateful gazes drilling into her, burning into her with a sense of degradation.

Her fingers slipped on the door handle, and then it was too late.

It snapped shut.

It closed, leaving her in total blackness.

"Please! I'll do anything! Let me out of here!" Out of sheer desperation she pounded the door with her bruised fists, screaming beyond control. Her tear ducts pricked and the salty droplets trickled down her cheeks, homogenizing with the grime and blood coating the skin of her cheeks. Her knees buckled and she fell, but her hands still pounded on the locked door. Desperately. Insanely.

"I'm _begging_ you! Please!"

There was no sound outside. The footsteps had long faded into a distance.

"You can't _do_ this to me! I can't _bear_ this pain…! Please…Please let me out of here, I'll do anything…anything…anything…you want…please…!"

The woods were still, unnaturally silent. The alley was hushed and deserted.

"Can't…bear…pain…please…"

No one.

"…_pain_…"

There was no one around for miles.

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** HOM_ECO_MING Q_UEE_N**

_By berryboom_

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So vivid, so saccharine, like deep red cherry wine…strength-giving, just the sight of it. Beautiful faces, suited to death.

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_[And of course]_

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Pain.

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_**Prompts: **__**secret place, "vengeance is sweet", "…how did we get from the top of the world to the bottom of the heap?" , exile**_

**A/N: I just thought to sneak in the opening, see what response it gets. Then I'll think about writing chapters and fitting it in my busy-as-a-bee schedule, even if I do late updates.**

**Anyway, if you read this, do review and tell. **

**Me+lotta reviews=happy to find my efforts fruitful :D**

**bErrYbOoM**


	2. Refresh Button

**Homecoming Queen**

**BB**

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_Do not wait until the conditions are perfect. Beginning makes the conditions perfect._

Cohen, Alan

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**Chapter 1**

**Refresh Button**

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_4th September, 2013_

Sitting comfortably in my father's smooth black Mercedes, it was really hard to contemplate what I was going to face in the next hour. It felt too toasty, warm and luxurious in the car to experience any kind of nervousness.

I was glad for that.

All week before since my decision to move back to Konoha High School had been spent in a flurry; frankly I couldn't remember much but documents, accessories, more documents, schedules, school payments, readmission…all seven days full of it.

And now it was Monday. First day of school.

It mattered too much because it was my _second_ first day at Konoha High. I was perturbed to see again the old faces, dig up the old buried folders in my mind, and press the refresh button to my life.

So basically it was nice that the laid-back atmosphere in the car was keeping the queasy feelings and apprehension at bay.

The ride to school from my house in Leaf Avenue usually took thirty minutes, given the distance and the fact that Konoha was such a large, sprawling metropolis across an area dotted with green vegetation.

The air usually felt fresh and verdant, and the breeze carried with it stray leaves in spirals, effectively living up to the city's name, Konoha, meaning Leaf. I would have loved to enjoy the fresh spring zephyrs accelerating as the car zoomed down the road, but I was afraid of messing up even a strand of my sleek hair.

As I watched, the long stretching road bent in a U, and we came across an ancient board with big letters labeled "Konoha High School Ahead". Reflexively, my fingers clenched on the passenger seat, my long manicured nails digging into the leather.

And all too soon my father was saying, "Here you go, dear. Good luck!"

_I'll need that_.

I forced a smile and slammed the door behind me.

The front lot was filled with random kids roaming around, talking before the start of classes. Some lounged underneath different trees in the groomed front gardens of the school, and some walked. But most of the kids were stepping up to the huge red-brick building namely the school, with its eight floors alone in this wing, and ivy growing up the sides, giving the building the look of an ancient red bastion.

I didn't recognize any of the faces.

I took a deep breath to calm myself down and the nagging panic blossoming in the pit of my stomach.

_I can do this. I_will_do this._

I entered the hallway.

And suddenly it came naturally to me. It wasn't because I had practiced for it to be, but because I was entirely ready for it, to take a new beginning.

I walked with an easy gait, flicking my hair back, my white bag slung across one shoulder. I nodded at those who looked at me and found that if I was social, I would be easily accepted.

I had dressed to look confident, neither a geek nor a slut. The last time I walked in his hallway, it had been with hunched shoulders, eyes trained on the ground, scared and nervous. It had seemed suitable for me then; it seemed so ridiculous now.

I had been given a new locker in the far end of the hallway. I twisted the combination lock, and placed my book bag inside, extracting my new timetable and giving it an once-over.

First off teacher, Yuuhi Kurenai, Chemistry.

After taking out my required hardback and notebook, I checked into the pocket mirror I had. _Per_fect. My emerald eyes gazed back at me, wide and black-lined, framed with thick eyelashes. My hair was swept sideways across my high forehead, sleek and shiny, and a light shade of bubble-gum pink. I reapplied pale cherry gloss on my luscious lips, to match my brand-new rose-pink top and tight miniskirt.

I had never ever been so concerned about my makeup and appearance, for all the years I had studied and suffered at this school.

This was a fresh start. In order to have everything go right, I had to _look_ right.

Voices, loud and babbling.

I risked a glance to my right. A group of black-clad boys, laughing and slapping each other high-five, quite an enthusiastic approach to a dreary school day. They seemed to be juniors too, I noted. Anyway, they weren't my concern.

What my concern was, hadn't arrived yet. Or maybe, I hadn't seen...?

The warning bell rang.

I slammed my locker shut and walked away. As I passed the group of boys on my way to homeroom, their laughter and chatter cut off. Either it was my shade of hair or something else, they gawked. Even though I didn't look at them and quietly walked, I could feel their stares drilling into me.

In another time, I would have felt intensely uncomfortable with the notion that I was being watched this way. I would have hurried, blushed, stumbled…But now, I didn't really feel uncomfortable, but I wasn't happy with that, either.

I realized this new mode was picking out the flaws in my old one.

"Hey, is she new or what…?"

"I'm almost positive I've seen her before…"

I cringed. I was counting on people having forgotten me.

"No way, _I_ would have remembered these legs!"

I turned into another hallway gladly, just when they erupted into raucous laughter.

The way to the second floor, Room 52 was short and devoid of any interaction with someone else, given that I couldn't find many, except a few loners. The place, I saw, seemed to have been furnished since my last time here. The floor was spotless, the walls were whitewashed. School posters and soft boards hung at regular intervals.

I looked around, engrossed, and nearly went past Room 52. I realized my mistake soon and backed up. The door was slightly ajar, and all seemed silent, except for one, loud female voice I unmistakably recognized as the Chemistry teacher's, Yuuhi Kurenai.

I hesitated just a second before I twisted the door handle and entered.

"Welcome back, Haruno Sakura."

As soon as I set foot inside the same old white-walled room with its intricate posters and academic papers sticking on the walls, and the huge window in the back showing the canopies of young trees and letting in fresh air, I attracted attention. Kurenai smiled at me, holding her hand out for my slip, apparently having recognized me easily.

However, the students didn't quite react so warmly.

Surprise. I could sense that in the air. Recognition came in a bit late. I didn't focus on anyone's face as Kurenai signed my slip and gestured to me to take a seat.

"You can sit here."

I looked around, and noticed a girl with a memorable face, ocean blue eyes and corn-silk blonde hair tied back. Her expression was open and welcoming, so I didn't think twice. I thanked Kurenai and walked between the aisle made by separated seats.

"Hi," said Yamanaka Ino, my friend back from my freshman year, as soon as I settled in. She smiled once and then turned back to her book, which miraculously hid a sleek Blackberry Pearl on which her long fingers tapped. "I like your hair, Sakura. But I guess I shouldn't be talking to you."

I frowned. "Thanks... Why?"

She raised a perfect eyebrow. "…Cause you've been a no-contact ass for over a year?"

Before I could reply, Kurenai rapped her chalk against the blackboard to get attention, and so I looked straight ahead.

I knew I had some explaining to do to all those who would demand enlightenment later.

The story behind just couldn't be explicated to everyone.

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My parents could have sent me to any school all over Konoha. They had the money, the contacts, and the status for that. My mother was an intricate fashion designer who worked day and night abroad, and I scarcely saw her around unless it was her vacation. On the other hand, my father was a renowned doctor specialized in cardiology, and he owned his personal hospital which was a huge success.

With their demanding jobs, they had little time for me. But when they had, they were always concerned about my future. My health, my education. I guess that's what parents are for. They were loving. And they got me enrolled in the most expensive schools of Konoha, first Konoha Preschool, Konoha Middle School, and at the end, Konoha High School.

Things were good at Preschool. Childhood is where there are no differences. There is innocence, sisterhood and brotherhood. They all cry together, laugh together. At least that was how it was.

Until I passed on to Middle.

I was happy. But that happiness would soon fleet.

I had never been self-conscious, but that usually happens when you get older. I had never hated my pink hair, which was a bizarre trait I wasn't sure who I had inherited from – maybe my grandmother? Who knew – my chunky body, and my huge forehead. I had felt fine with how I looked. Until I started to get bullied, teased. I became the center of attention, just because of my appearance. As we got older, even the fact that I was the smartest in studies became my bad point.

I came home miserable. Everyday. I thought I was going through my worst days of life, but I was wrong. Middle School was nothing. Being teased, being called "Freak" and "Billboard Brow", having a large group of bullies against me…It was nothing.

High School was literally hell on Earth.

Before my first day of high school, I pleaded with my mother, and she gave in. She allowed me to color my hair, and I chose a boring brown to hide my bizarre mane. My mother asked why, and I stalled by saying, "It's a new start."

Duh, a new start, literally.

Despite my new, passable color of hair and the hairstyle that hid most of my forehead, not to mention that I had to wear glasses, I was easily familiar. It was mainly due to the fact that ninety-nine percent of the Konoha High School population came back from the same primary and middle schools.

Still, it was better. The color made me blend in, made me invisible, and if I wasn't chosen for by anyone, I wasn't picked on, too. I had two friends, but I was fine with that.

Being invisible was better than anything.

That was before I made the biggest mistake of my life.

The one that _ruined_ me. Forever.

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"I need the assignments by Thursday. Tenten, see me after school; I'll fix that problem you have with Friday's lesson. Sakura," Kurenai said as she picked up her binders at the end of the class. Students were filing out of the room, bumping and pushing each other. I felt most of their gazes on me as they left. I looked up and I saw the said girl, Tenten, give me a small wave and leave.

I smiled back. We weren't even good friends back then. It was amazing how time changed.

"…Did you have any problems with the lecture?" Kurenai continued as she shoved papers in her files.

"No, ma'am. It was fine."

"I guess that's good. If you have any difficulty, ask me. After all, you have missed the whole sophomore year. Even if you were homeschooled."

"Yes, ma'am."

Ino rolled her eyes at the teacher's concern as we both strolled out of the room. We proceeded to our lockers, and I checked my timetable. I still had Physics with Sarutobi Asuma, and then Eng Literature class before recess. Thankfully, Ino would accompany me in Physics.

"…So? I think I deserve an explanation," Ino was saying as we elevated to the fourth floor for Asuma's Physics class.

"About what?"

She punched me in the shoulder. "Playing Poker Face? Oh c'mon. I called you, like, a zillion times. I left messages on your phone, I emailed you, I even dropped by your house, but you were never there. Talk about getting abducted by aliens? That is just too fake."

I shook my head as she rattled on, annoyance apparent in her voice. I didn't know what to say.

"I was sick," I said lamely.

She quirked an eyebrow. "I'm not stupid."

We walked in silence. The Physics lab was visible now, where we were supposed to take the class. Before I could go in, Ino's half-bare arm blocked the entrance. There was determination on her face.

"Oh, no, you aren't going in there before I get the details."

I groaned. "Ino, don't tell me you're looking for gossip."

"I'm waiting."

I sighed heavily, and looked her straight in the eye. "Gosh, what's with all the questions? I went to Iwa." It was a faraway city where my mother sometimes shopped for her fabric materials. It was the first place I could think of. "Mom had a year project there, and Dad was super busy, so I moved. Was homeschooled." I shrugged.

I hoped she wasn't seeing through my deception.

She narrowed her eyes at me, clearly unconvinced, but my story sounded completely logical, even to her. She shrugged and let me in.

I exhaled in relief. I just didn't have the strength to tell the story to her. Even though she happened to be my friend, I didn't felt like confiding.

Asuma didn't bother with a welcome, but he nodded at me as he forced a cigarette out of his pack. He was the first teacher ever to smoke freely in classrooms. Of course, nobody knew that. Except his students.

Even here as I sat down beside Ino, I felt stares. I didn't meet anyone's eye, just ignored them. But I was certain that I knew most of these faces. They didn't bother to talk, but some nodded or waved at me, including a guy with darkish hair, spiky, and tied into a ponytail at the back of his head. I vaguely remembered his name. Nara.

Shikamaru. That was it.

I could dig up all the names of people in my junior year if I wanted. But I didn't feel interested.

I guess that was because I still hadn't seen those I wanted to see most.

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After an uneventful Lit class with Yugao-sensei, who was the only one who made me introduce myself to the class – a feat I performed amazingly despite the butterflies in my stomach, which perked up some of the students ("Hey, Sakura-chan! It's me, Naruto! Believe it!" Another one of my old friends who wanted to hear why I was absent, and who I gave the same excuse as Ino) – it was finally recess.

I was feeling pretty hungry now.

We trooped down to the cafeteria, me and Ino now accompanied by an obnoxiously loud Uzumaki Naruto who seemed cheerful and enthusiastic as always. While Ino grimaced and tried to be as away from the blond boy as possible, I grinned and I joked along with him.

Sometimes he just got over everybody's nerves. But mostly he was so sweet. I don't mean that in a romantic way, but that boy is so sociable, he is probably friends with the whole school.

I guess that's how he became friends with me. Just a bit more closely.

I grabbed lemonade, an apple and a slice of pizza and put them on my tray. When Naruto and Ino got their food – Naruto's tray bulging with food and drinks; I just don't understand how boys can stay fit with this whole intake – I asked them where they wanted to sit.

"Come sit with we old ones!" Naruto grinned and he and Ino led to the huge round table by the windows.

As I approached the table of the _old ones, _they waved, warm and welcoming. I sat with Ino, and looked around at the faces for the first time. There was no hostility or annoyance set on their features that the old Haruno Sakura would have expected. They were just open and communal.

As I had sworn to take a new beginning, I was going to leave the old shy, unconfident geek Haruno behind.

I smiled back warmly at everyone.

"Hey, guys."

"Hey, Sakura," Tenten greeted me again. She had become quite prettier over the year, and changed her hairdo. Now she wore her hair in two Chinese buns with bangs framing her porcelain face.

"Hello," said Hyuga Hinata from my other side, her voice faint and soft. She smiled at me tentatively. She as well, I noticed, had changed her appearance. Her eyes were pearly as always, and her pale face still as childlike, but she had grown her hair long. They went below to her waist.

Plump (I would not say fat, because even thinking of that word is a taboo in this boy's case) brown-haired Akimichi Choji nodded at me, his mouth full of crisps that he thoroughly replaced with more from a dozen packets piled on his tray.

Inuzuka Kiba grinned at me, his spiky hair standing up on his head, his face as enthusiastic as Naruto's. "Hey, Sakura!"

"Hey, Kiba. How's Akamaru doing?" Akamaru was his puppy that he used to bring back in middle school. He got into a lot of trouble because of that. But I couldn't blame him; the sweet white dog was just so adorable.

"He's grown. Wait till you see him. I wish I could bring him to school," he added wistfully.

"It isn't a doghouse, Kiba," Naruto said, a line too sensible for him.

"Welcome back, anyways, Sakura," Ino said.

"Thanks."

"You look so changed," Tenten added. Perhaps I was about to make another friend, the way she was smiling at me. "And slim."

I laughed uncomfortably. I remembered how I had struggled to lose those pounds. It wasn't exactly a happy experience.

"Did you get contacts? I remember you wearing glasses last time."

"Yeah. My mom finally let me."

"Your outfit's great too. And your hairdo…"

"…Hey, I'm still the prettiest one on this table," Ino interrupted defensively, flipping back her blonde hair, and we all laughed.

"Doesn't that guy Shikamaru sit with you people?" I asked, remembering that pineapple-style haired boy from Physics class, who was sitting on a long table far away with a bunch of guys.

The way Ino looked over at him, I could certainly see her interest. The wistful tone of her voice confirmed my observation. "Sometimes, he does. Mostly he sits with those."

Naruto's eyes sparkled mischievously. "Oh, _bummer_. The guy Ino likes doesn't sit with us."

"I don't _like_ him."

"Denial is the first stage of love."

"Ugh, what's gotten into you, Naruto? What's with all this –"

Their voices trailed off in my hearing; they continued to bicker in the background of the scenario I was watching. No one noticed my distraction.

I had frozen in the act of reaching for my bottle.

As majestic and showy as always, they strolled into the student-packed cafeteria; their posture showed overconfidence, arrogance and a sense of false leadership, but it was there all the same. Tall, graceful, ostentatious, proud.

As always.

This was something that by no means changed.

The one in the front had carroty hair that went down to her waist, a sporty tan, gleaming eyes and her outfit hinted at designer origins. Her accompanying friend (or may I say, co-conspirator) had a cascade of jet black hair tied loosely with a ribbon, and the stance of a graceful gazelle.

The one my eyes turned at was the leader. Her aura showed that she was, and her attire seconded it. Her fiery red hair, which used to be simply straight, was now cut in stylish layers that curved to the middle of her back. Red designer glasses were perched before her scorching crimson shade of eyes, and her tight dress showed off perfect feminine carcass.

I watched as Tayuya, Kin and Karin sauntered to the longest table half filled with popular seniors and juniors, like they were the queens of the school, and sat.

Hate and revulsion burst into the hollow of my belly, like burning acid. It clawed its way to my throat, and for a moment, I felt like I would throw up. My fingers clenched on my lemonade bottle, threatening to crush it; wanting to crush it.

Wanting to crush their stupid perfect faces and dump them at the end of recess.

I shook my head, bursting out of the horrendous stupor.

_No. Don't go there_.

_I might as well do_.

Again the image forced its way into my mind: my sharp nails digging into a pale gullet, Karin's most, and squeeze it until it would just hang there limply.

I quivered, yearning to drive away the picture.

In my struggle to compose myself, I tore my eyes away from the table and gazed back at the entrance.

…

All in his deserved glory, he strode into the canteen.

* * *

**Uchiha Sasuke**

He didn't recognize the new girl.

Sure, there was something familiar about her face and her eyes, but he couldn't pinpoint any memory in which he had seen her.

When he walked in the cafeteria with his classmates, late as usual, he automatically looked for the bench by the window, which he had been hoping to find empty. Good luck evaded him. Sometimes.

But a group already sat there.

No big deal.

He turned back, but something stopped him in his tracks. He was familiar with all the faces on that table, but one pink head stood out bizarrely from the picture.

He hadn't seen her there before.

He would not be bothered about it either; nevertheless, it was the expression on her face that took him aback.

It wasn't exactly demonstrative, but inflectionless and solemn. Her hands overlapped around a green bottle, her shoulders rigid as she stared up at him.

With such eyes that made him recoil.

They would seem beautiful to anyone; the color was a bright green, but it was also deep and unfathomable.

What shocked him was the coldest glare that emanated from those eyes…like emerald stones. Just stones.

It didn't frighten him; that took a lot.

But it made him very uneasy, and for a long while he couldn't tear away his eyes from hers.

_Fuck…Did I do something wrong or what?_

…Suddenly he was plunged into the past.

* * *

_**A/N: …You know all the mysteries and the horrors don't unravel in the first chapter, so this may seem a bit boring, but of course that's how a story spins open. I hope you like it, and read and review….It's very easy :P**_

_**I'm very thankful to the reviewers of the prologue. I appreciate you. Not to forget those silent readers who've favorited or followed my story.**_

**Some Notices:**

1. Okay so first off, I have a life. I'm a hardworking college freshman, and I HAVE to spend most of my time studying. So that may result in late updates, and I'm really sorry in advance for that.

2. Secondly, I will try updating every weekend, 'because that's when I'm a bit free. Yes, a bit. Oh college life.

3. I wanted to ask you people: is it okay if I write this story in first person? Because I wrote the prologue in third person. Depends, cuz I have to change at least two POVs per chapter. What do you think? I may edit according to your response.

4. Please do review.

5. K. Bye.

6. Thanks.

7. Don't leave me.

8. You're my favorites.

9. P.S. Anyone wants me to R&R their stories?

**Yours,**

**berryboom**

.


	3. Reminiscence

**Homecoming Queen**

**BB**

* * *

_Just because you're beautiful and perfect, it's made you conceited. _

Goldman, William

…

…

…

**Chapter 2**

**Reminiscence**

…

…

…

* * *

Let me tell you what _I _know about him.

He was a legend when he transferred to our school from Oto High, in another city. Tall, dark, mysterious. Few knew about his family background, and unfortunately the common population of the school which included me, weren't familiar with it. He was quiet, a good student, but on the other hand his silence exhibited arrogance, secrecy and family pride.

It wasn't long when he was the center of attention of teachers and students, given his talent in all fields he applied for and was the piece of infatuation for the girls in our school.

And so began our freshman year.

I initiated my year invisible, my figure depicting a serious, hardworking student. I spent some time with Ino and Naruto, two of the loudest in our school, but still managed to camouflage. Life went by easier.

Keeping my nose buried in my book and my eyes blind to the world around me…it sure aided in improving my grade, and provided me with an Invisibility Cloak I didn't need taking off.

It was one of those imperceptible days that I brushed past the Uchiha.

* * *

_8__th__ September, 2011_

"Students, for your science project, I'm going to assign you a partner each. You know how much this project will count in your academic grade, so get serious with it and work your best. You have a week."

As soon as the teacher Iruka Umino had finished his announcement, voices broke out in the classroom. Each student looked out for their desirable partner, flashing thumbs-up and wishing luck. The project was really very significant, and I took it as such. But judging the way the students were lapping up the idea, it was serving a different purpose.

"Silence!"

Hush fell over the room.

I listened with anticipation as Iruka-sensei listed the partners, hoping with all my heart that I would be paired up with one of my friends.

"Rock Lee and Tenten…" This earned a whine from the brunette "…Inuzuka Kiba and Hyuga Hinata…Nara Shikamaru and Akimichi Choji…Hozuki Suigetsu and Karin …Yamanaka Ino and Uzumaki Naruto…"

I saw Ino grimace and peer at me in disapproval, as if it was my fault that she had acquired the happy blond as a partner. I felt like screaming; I would trade anything right then to get even _Naruto_ as my partner. As I hyperventilated, Iruka-sensei went on with his list.

"…Haruno Sakura and Uchiha Sasuke…"

The quiet felt deafening to my ears. I sat cold in my seat, my hands clasped in my lap, my shoulders rigid. I didn't listen to the irate mockery with the certain tenor that described them as female, nor did I glance at the murderous glares that were burning into my skin.

I didn't occur to me right then that I could have Iruka Sensei change my associate; it wasn't too late. But I was still in my trance.

Hypnotically, I tilted my head to my right, brushing my brown hair away from my spectacles to see well. He was far away, with about seven seats between us. He sat with his hands folded underneath his chin, elbows supported by the small desk in front of him. His expression displayed nothing, but a twitch of his dark eyebrow qualified that he was bothered with the entire clamor.

It seemed as if we were sitting in a snake's nest: my half-mesmerized brain supplied an allegory concerned with the hisses I was surrounded with.

I looked and looked at him, seeing him for the first time with my make-believe Invisibility Cloak off. He was quite handsome: his features were sharp and perfectly carved as if a sculpture and his spiky raven hair resembled a porcupine, albeit framing his face with soft bangs. Pale skin, the shade of a white bone.

And his eyes – they struck, clashed as dark with his light skin. They were utterly black obsidians, so dark that the absorbed colors, the spectrum, they seemed to emerge as flecks in there. It seemed…too beautiful. It made time meaningless, as if I was drowning in the black pools with those dull green eyes of mine, utterly unconcerned and unenlightened with my whereabouts.

And then he broke the spell. He looked away, and I was sent crashing into my reality.

"…Otohime Tayuya and Kinuta Dosu… Abumi Zaku and Tsuchi Kin…"

The reality where I sat still and regretful for losing my chance to alter my partnership.

Because no way. Even if I made the biggest mistake of my life at that moment, that I fell in love with Uchiha Sasuke, deep down I knew I stood no chance with him.

Maybe one in a million.

* * *

"Is he here yet?"

"Sakura. You've asked me the question for a bazillion times. Take a deep breath, relax. Through your nose…"

"Mahiru!"

I rolled my eyes, and it was an amazing feat considering the frantic thudding of my heart and racing mind, and the extra calcium that seemed to have sneaked in my muscular system and was making my limbs excitable.

I couldn't stand still. I paced the hall, my hands knotted into a double fist. For a moment I would pause in front of the large mirror on one wall, framed by metal roses, and check my reflection. I had tried pushing back my lanky brown hair with some success, and twisted them in a French knot in the back. I was wearing my new tank top with boot-cut jeans, and I had to admit, I looked a bit better.

I didn't want to admit to myself that I was hoping to impress Sasuke.

After school he had passed by my locker, walking with an easy, arrogant gait, his friends a few feet behind him. "…I'll come by your house at eight to work for the project…if that's fine with you."

Of course it took me a moment to clarify to myself that _the_ Uchiha Sasuke was speaking to _me_ about coming to _my_ house for _our_ science project. When I finally concluded that he had indeed queried me, his face was expectant and I had a notion he was probably thinking if I was mentally competent or not. I collected myself, and blabbered. Naturally.

"Y – Yes, it's fine; you can come by, M – Mom and Dad wouldn't be h – home, anyway, so, yeah, eight…sounds great!"

As soon as I finished, I subsided into scarlet-faced silence. Internally, I was cursing myself. Why did I have to blabber? Maybe it was Naruto and Ino rubbing off on me, but now I was forgetting to mumble one word answers that wouldn't humiliate me or get me in trouble. (And wouldn't make a pun. _Eight sounds great_? Seriously?)

I peeked sheepishly at the boy in front of me. He merely raised an eyebrow, and then nodded. "Aa."

His friends and followers of sorts reached him, staring at me as I was the jester of some faux pas, and passing by with their chatter continued.

I took a pen from my open, clean locker, and scribbled my address on a Post-it note, handing it to him with shaking hands.

My glasses askew, my heart pounding hard as an aftermath of the encounter, I had watched him leave the hall.

And now it was eight, and I was all ready. I had done a few preparations for the project, and more for my own impression on him, checking out my best clothes and items, as if it was a study _date_.

Well, of course it wasn't. But I wanted it to be like that.

As I waited, Mahiru, our faithful nanny/housekeeper watched me from her appointed (by me) post beside the oak front door, a smile playing on her chapped lips. She was grinning continuously, even chuckling when I asked her if he had arrived.

"I'm nervous…God, I'm so nervous…"

Mahiru looked a bit surprised. "Why? Because you like him?"

I cursed under my breath. Being with my family so long, she was well aware of my moods, my expressions, even to the extent of knowing my status by just perceiving me. So I just gave in to her when she expressed her knack of reading facial expressions, and confessed. "Well…I guess. Do I look okay? Not too geeky, I hope? Will he like my hair? And…"

"Sakura, my little peach, you look _enchantee_."

I grinned. Then I glanced at the wall clock, and butterflies danced in my stomach. It was five past eight.

He was late. But what can you count on all guys being? Late. Of course. So I decided to wait bit longer.

…

Longer seemed a bit _too_ long tonight.

By eight forty-five, I was panicking. I could search his number up in the phone directory, but I didn't want to be the one to call him, make him think I was desperate.

But when the clock struck nine, I wondered. Had he, perhaps, got stuck in a traffic jam or something? Or did he misread my home address? Or…

A distant sound issued from the lounge, quickly followed by two more chimes from the kitchen and my upper floor room. The three connected telephones were ringing.

"I'll get it," I said. Might as well take a distraction.

I walked to the living room and picked up the receiver from its cradle. "Hello?"

"_Is this the Harunos'_?"

"Yes?"

"_Can I talk to Sakura_?"

My breath caught in my throat as I recognized the smooth voice.

"Speaking," I breathed.

"_Yeah, Sakura, it's Uchiha Sasuke. Listen, a friend of mine who was left odd out yesterday wanted to work with me. He's in pretty bad shape, and needed help. So I decided to partner with him_."

"…Oh. _Oh_."

"_I apologize about not telling you sooner. I just got your number from the Konoha phone directory. Hope you understand_."

"Yeah," I replied numbly. "What about Iruka-sensei?"

"…_Jugo talked to him and he agreed. Umino says you're a good student and capable of handling a project by yourself."_

I didn't even feel better when his statement sounded as a compliment. I felt too miserable and disappointed by the fact that he wouldn't be coming over and that my preparations were a waste than the truth I was left without a partner.

"_You okay with that_?"

"Yeah, sure. Jugo needs you."

"_Goodbye then_." And he hung up.

"What happened?" Mahiru asked as I lumbered over to the staircase leading to my room. She was just behind me. "Did he stand you up?"

I nodded miserably and motioned to my intricately knotted brown plait, embellished with rhinestone pins on the crown and the tail. "That was a _waste_."

* * *

_7__th__ November, 2011_

It was two months later.

The speech competition.

I stood nervously in the queue of participants backstage. The applauses were loud and clear even here, and the sound made beads of perspiration appear on my forehead. I focused on calming and composing myself.

_Follow the notes_, I told myself over and over again. Be confident. Act like there's no one around you. You're speaking to your mirror. Loud and clear, without any stuttering, any blabbering.

But somehow I felt as if I was going to blow it.

I hadn't signed up for the speech competition. But my perfect academic record pulled the teacher, Hayate Gekko, also our Examination Proctor, to pick me for the list of participants. There were three elected from my grade.

You're so lucky to be chosen! I wish I was there instead of you, Ino had said.

Yeah, right. I would have gladly told her to be my guest, but there was no choice.

Thanks to Mahiru, and a little to Ino, I had performed the perfect speech on _Major Issues in the Developing World, _the tedious, boring subject appointed to me at home. But my vocabulary and ideas had sprinkled specks of gold in the written form of the speech. The only problem that remained was the vocalization.

I had practiced.

And the moment to test it had nearly…

"Next! Sakura Haruno, the 2nd speaker of Ninth Grade."

…arrived.

When I stepped up on the stage and stood in front of the rostrum and the microphone, I didn't register the hundreds of people sitting as my spectators. I inhaled once – to calm myself – and looked up, pretending to notice nothing, as if I was invisible…they were invisible.

I had had enough experience for that.

I listened to myself speaking, my own lips framing the confident, loud words recorded in my notes, as if they were someone else's. Truly, I couldn't believe they were mine, that it was I, the silent mouse of freshman grade.

It was the applause and the ovations that snapped me out of my vision of an empty room: among those were catcalls and jeers but the appreciative claps overcome them all. And now I was able to focus on people's faces, impressed and approving.

In the front row the principal Tsunade smiled approvingly as I came across her with my roaming eyes, and impulsively I beamed, warmth spreading in my insides.

I sought to say "Thank you" to all the applauders but there was no time; the stage secretary was already calling out the name of the following spokesperson. In my joy and pride I let go of the rostrum and stepped back to let the next speaker take the podium.

And the next thing I knew, I had fallen facedown.

The noise abruptly stopped. And then resumed a long, long second later, this time accompanied with hilarity and sniggers.

I braced my hands on the carpeted platform floor and pushed myself up. My face felt warmer than before, burning. And not because of being privileged and proud, but indignity.

There were no wires or such material around my feet, so I instantly knew I hadn't tripped. I had been _shoved_ on purpose.

"Oops, sorry, Haruno," apologized the voice a little far away from me, near the podium. There stood a tall, graceful girl with straight, flaming red hair and red-rimmed glasses perched on the crown of her head. Her expression was apologetic, guilty. But her fire-colored irises burned with cruel sentiments and I could easily see the contempt there, mixed in with glee and mirth.

Why even apologize when your eyes could give away your real intentions?

_She_ had tripped me.

Karin.

As I left the stage, I glimpsed the mass of people once more, and this time my gaze landed on a pale, handsome face beautified with its jet black onyx pools. It stood out from the other amused and jeering faces.

It was noticeable to me not because of its good look, but the expression: laughter showed clearly on his handsome features and as the boy on his right whispered something to him, his lips curled up in a wide smirk.

My bubble of elation and self-importance had already burst, leaving me in furious humiliation. As if that wasn't enough, a stab of pain pierced through my heart when I realized that Uchiha Sasuke was also laughing at me.

I ran backstage as the tears of mortification and rage blinded my vision.

* * *

_15__th__ November, 2012_

"Naruto, don't say anything to him, please."

"I won't guarantee anything."

Uzumaki Naruto was seething as we sat together at lunch in the corner of the cafeteria. It was an atypical sight, as he usually was blissful and enthusiastic whether it was all excellent or he was in trouble (which was quite a bunch of times.) His aggravation earned him a few stares from around; thankfully _my_ back was to the other tables.

Naruto wasn't the one to pick up wretched moods; he went on with his jabbering and his carefree gossip, but as my miserable and glum temperament continued for over a week, he finally caught on. I had no intention of discussing anything with Naruto that was more appropriate to be conferred with Ino, but as the latter was continually absent and he was getting stubbornly annoying with his questions, I gave in.

I ended up stuttering that I kind of liked the Uchiha. And my expression was such that he didn't cackle and go sakura-has-a-crush-on-sasuke; though normally he would have. I proceeded on to how he had stood me up on our study date (okay, study _meeting_) and how he left me alone to handle the project myself, which I was so kind to agree to, and then laugh at me in the auditorium. I also added that Karin (The number one fan girl of Sasuke's, ask anyone) had humiliated me after my great speech, and how I sensed that she would continue to bully me. I just didn't know why.

Was it because _she_ liked Sasuke? That was obvious. The way she clung to him beyond normal proximity and friendship and came on to him despite having Suigetsu as a boyfriend, it was apparent. But why get on _my_ case? There were innumerable girls at school that were smitten with the guy, then why single me out and bless _me_?

"That bastard!" Naruto knocked his fist on the table. "He's friends with Karin, right, Sakura-chan?"

"Yeah, but –"

"They both are gonna get busted! No one hurts my friends and gets away with it!"

"Shh!"

"He's still not here…or I would go –"

"– barging right to him. I know, you idiot!" I hissed, instinctively smacking him on the head. He grunted in pain and I loosened my hold on him, keeping my panic just trapped within my words. "You won't mention it to him! It'll make it worse. Or to Karin. They're assholes and we can't do anything about it."

"Why do you like him if he's an asshole?"

I gritted my teeth. I didn't know why. My sudden intense liking for him was marred with heartbreak and anger but it was still strong.

There was just something in him. I remembered the time I had drowned in his cruelly mesmerizing eyes…

"…And if you like him, he should care," Naruto was declaring.

"He doesn't know, period. And he's not gonna," I added savagely as he opened his mouth to speak. "Promise me you won't tell him. Or anyone else."

Irritation went across his boyish features and then gradually the spark in his blue eyes died. "Okay," he surrendered. "I won't. But if that Karin or the jerk does anything else to you, I'll break my promise. I'll pound them. Believe it."

His expression was very fierce, but it still didn't stop me from breaking out in chuckles. _Pound_ them. "Then you won't detention anyway, you'll be suspended. Just like that."

"Humph."

I turned my attention back to my bagel. It wasn't helpful, but it was still comforting to confide in a friend, and a loyal one at that. I looked at Naruto, who was tossing his noodles with his fork moodily, and caught his mutters that weren't meant for me to hear.

"Why does she even like the bastard if he's getting her in trouble with those whores? Silly Sakura-chan…"

_I don't know, Naruto. I really don't._

* * *

_16__th__ November, 2012_

The scene caught my eyes a little late. It had been pouring buckets that day, dark clouds covering every inch of the sky. It was unfortunate that the downpour had started just after school had been dismissed and everyone was heading home.

I had stayed back to collect my assignments (Marked A of course) from Asuma-sensei, the Physics teacher, and it took me about half and an hour.

By that time, it was raining cats and dogs and almost all the students had left; it was lucky that I had been wearing a hooded jacket. I had stowed my assignment hurriedly in my leather bag, which would hopefully resist the water, if the salesman had been correct. I hated damp books. Who doesn't, anyway?

I hurried down the school steps and stepped out the school gate, where the two humongous trees arched together and formed a temporary, leaky cover. My destination was the bus shelter a little far from the school. Stopping for just a moment, I took off my glasses and rubbed them clean.

In my blurry peripheral vision I saw two figures, a bit far away from the school parking lot, towards the sidewalk that lined the road leading outside the school area. One of them seemed to be gesturing wildly with his hands and the other was still. They were standing right in heavy cloudburst but didn't seem to care.

With a growing sense of alarm, I sloshed through the rainy puddles towards them, and then stood behind a lone old Chevy standing in the end of the lot, where the sidewalk set off. I put on my glasses.

There in the rain was a boy with blond hair that were wet and dripping with moisture, his expression wild and furious, while the other faced him; his dark hair were matted across his forehead and the side of his face, and his visage was cold as ice.

I gawked in horror as I realized that it was Naruto and Sasuke; judging from the former's wild gestures and the other's equally snide rebukes, they were having a heated argument. I couldn't hear them over the pounding rain, but it was evident.

I was so mad at that moment that I could have ripped something apart. How _did_ I trust Naruto, the number one unpredictable student at Konoha High?

My fury dissolved into shock and horror again as Naruto's right knuckles curled into a hard fist and before I – or even Sasuke – could register anything, it had collided with his pale cheek, befalling him into the rainy puddles at his feet.

Even from my far spot I could see the red seeping down the Uchiha's mouth and mix in with the water as he lay. But not two seconds had passed that Naruto jumped down on his chest with a thump and grabbed hold of his collar.

Even over the rain, I could hear his furious shout. "_You're just a good-for-nothing cold bastard!"_

Sasuke seemed to be struggling as Naruto shook his collar and yelled out series of profanities. But it didn't last for much. With a burst of strength he pushed the blond boy backwards and lunged at his throat with a demented look twisting his attractive features.

His hands wrapped at Naruto's throat and the blond did a double take, his hands struggling to pry the Uchiha's away, but to no avail.

I gasped in horror and the shriek I was keeping in clawed its way out of me. "_Stop_!"

For an instant I thought it had worked, that they had stopped. Sasuke had pushed Naruto away and both of them were gasping hard; Naruto was massaging his neck.

I was dead wrong.

The dark-haired boy dived at the other again, the same frenzied look in his obsidian eyes. I saw Naruto's startled face – Startled at the adversary's strength or his manic fury – before Sasuke twisted his arm back.

I'll never forget the cry that Naruto gave out. I could easily imagine the pain that would cause even bold, tough Naruto to scream that way.

I threw my backpack down on the muddy ground and sprinted towards them frantically.

The Uchiha had heaved him down on the footpath with one harsh stroke, and was advancing on him slowly. His chest fell up and down with rapid breathing.

"No! Stop!"

My fingers locked like a vise around Sasuke's sturdy arm. I could feel his thick muscles under the black sleeve, drenched and clinging snugly to his skin.

The change of expression was sudden: the frenzy in his eyes died and surprise took his place. We both stood there in the rain for a long moment with me restraining him lest he took another dive at Naruto, panting.

"Don't. Hurt. Him," I managed to choke out.

"He was asking for it," he said flatly.

I could see that the fight had died in him, but I wasn't taking any chances. Behind me, there was a shuffling, and a low moan. "Sak…"

"_Sasuke_! What the hell are you doing?"

Both of us turned automatically towards the source of the voice: distant, in front of a sleek black Corolla stood a tall girl with red hair. Karin.

Her expression was indignant and irate as she watched us there. Her eyes didn't focus on the wounded figure lying on the ground, but the two of us. Her hands were clenched into fists at her sides.

"Why'd you hurt him? Why?" I asked, ignoring our furious audience. In my head the images still played vividly: Naruto's cry as his arm bent behind his back and the demented fury on his opponent's face as he threw him on the sidewalk. So much violence, trauma.

"I didn't mean to," he snarled.

"You did!"

"_Uchiha Sasuke_!"

"He was the one who – I was just –"He broke off, frustrated. His arm jerked underneath mine and I let go. He ran a bloody hand through his wet locks and sighed irritably. "Hn. Leave it."

"I'll tell the principal." I hadn't meant to, but the words just slipped. I observed as his irritated expression faded away, dissolved into nothingness and then he went cold as ice again. His lips pulled up in a leer: but it wasn't amused at my proposition. It was just a smirk thrown at me in disgust. Contempt.

He turned his back on me abruptly. "Do as you please."

I watched him go, this time with a mixture of anger and wistfulness I didn't understand. His hands were jammed into the pocket of his jeans, his head bent low as he approached the car. Ignoring Karin, who stepped forward to him in concern, he opened the passenger door and trudged inside, slamming it in the redhead's face.

She huffed at his attitude and then looked back at us. There was an unsaid warning in her eyes: a warning mixed with a vixen's wrath. It was too fierce. I wish I had heeded that warning, but I was too forgetful for my own sake.

When the she drove the car away, I rushed to Naruto. Sinister, crimson blood seeped down his mouth and his forehead, blending with the water to make a lake of red-colored liquid. His left arm twisted at a crazy angle beneath him. The sight of his injuries made me sick with my own ache.

I placed my arm behind his back and heaved him up, taking care not to jostle the broken arm. The rain had slowed to a drizzle now, allowing me to see well. The sky was clearing; perhaps the storm had ended with their fight.

"He was asking for you," Naruto mumbled painfully, as I fished in my pocket for a kerchief or anything to block the bleeding on his forehead.

I stopped my fumbling. I wasn't sure I had heard him right. "Come again?"

"I said, he was asking for you,' he continued. His words were separated by panting breaths. "He came to me after school, here. Wanted to talk to you. He really has a big head. Thinks he owns the world, just 'cause he's an Uchiha," he added sullenly. "I – I lost it. At that moment.''

I digested this with difficulty. Sasuke wanted to talk to me? He must have seen me around with Naruto in school, which was why he asked Naruto. But what had caused the argument to turn into a punching contest?

Naruto had hit him first. That I knew.

"Did you tell him?" I asked flatly.

For once, Naruto's bleeding face looked sheepish. "Erm…"

"Did you?"

"It must have slipped out when I got mad," he admitted, hanging his head.

I sighed. But I realized I didn't really care. Though my heart still longed for the handsome Uchiha even now, the sight of Naruto wounded to such extent pained me. The red marks on his neck were visible to me easily, as were the twisted arm and the bruised face. Sasuke could have killed Naruto, the way his eyes were aflame with that mad anger. How could I love, or even crush on someone who had almost killed my friend?

"Sorry, Sakura-chan. It was my fault. I shouldn't have hit him."

I nodded, not meeting his eyes. "Will you tell on him? And me?" He tacked in the last words with a wince. His arm had moved an inch.

I sighed. "No, I won't. I won't tell on him, either. It will get you both suspended. Better not get into more mess. Let's go to my dad's hospital. It's near."

"Oh."

I let go of him, keeping care that he didn't fall back. Boy, was he a fast healer! He was in a bad condition, but better than before. I decided to risk a chance.

"Where are you going?"

"Getting us a cab, moron."

* * *

_4__th__ September, 2013._

I didn't see the Uchiha after that incident.

I didn't think he recognized me, though I must have seemed familiar enough to him that he had stopped in his tracks.

It was after a whole year that I was seeing his face again, amidst the others crowded in the noisy cafeteria of Konoha High. It was same as before; as exotic as ever with the dark onyx pools and the raven hair striking against the white complexion.

But something had changed.

The flecks of young love and desperation, the feeling of butterflies dancing inside, the warmth, the thrill of getting occasional peeks at him, the urge to touch his face or plant a kiss on his flawless lips…it was all gone.

Too much had happened to take it all way. Two episodes of pain and hurt, but too much. Too intense.

I didn't forgive him. But still…

There was neither like nor dislike left in my heart for Uchiha Sasuke.

* * *

**Karin**

Her friends didn't notice it, but she did.

She was the one who minded it most, anyhow.

Tayuya was sipping her orange juice slowly, her eyes on her silver-haired boyfriend seated across the cafeteria. Damn, they were still fighting. But still, she could see why Tayuya just hung on, tethering herself to the strands of their relationship. Kimimaro was quite handsome. Not as handsome as _her_ boyfriend, but really attractive. And quiet.

Her other close friend, Kin, was busy with her new hottie of the week; they seemed to be sucking, no, _eating_ each other's faces. Ugh. Did Kin really have to make out with all her guys out here in the cafeteria when they were trying to have some food?

Anyway, that wasn't why she looked at them, only to find that her friends were clueless. She turned her stare back towards the other side of cafeteria.

Uchiha Sasuke was standing there. Just standing there, transfixed, and not moving on. That was what had captured her attention. She had searched for the person who had made him stop, and she found _her_.

That big forehead girl, back with her hideous pink hair and huge green eyes, without the glasses she had worn last year.

What was Haruno Sakura doing here? Karin had made sure that she wouldn't return to this school anymore, out of disgrace or humiliation or rage or fear or whatever.

But there she was again.

And what enraged Karin further was that Sasuke_,_ _her _boyfriend, was staring at _Haruno_.

Even in her annoyance and irritation, she could sense it. A kind of connection between them as they stared unblinkingly into each other's eyes. Aside that connection was a chill – it didn't seem romantic, the way they were positively spellbound.

It seemed…weird. She wanted Sasuke to stop staring at her, for many obvious reasons, but also because she could also sense the chill emanating the rosette, just by looking at her cold, expressionless face.

And what was more, she didn't want Sasuke to recognize her: that this was the same girl with the dyed brown hair and huge glasses in which he had been – she wasn't completely sure – a bit interested.

She didn't want him to even look at her, let alone talk to her or spend time with her. She had made sure of that.

And now she was back again to ruin the peace. Karin didn't like feeling insecure, even if Sasuke _was_ her official boyfriend. She didn't want him to turn to her again.

Suddenly, Sasuke shook his head, breaking the connection, and Karin's shoulders which had been stiff and tense, relaxed. His face showed that he didn't recognize her.

She was relieved. But she knew something had to be done about Haruno.

She would crush the new determination and courage or whatever there was that had brought the girl back to Konoha High.

She arranged her features into a pleasant smile as Sasuke passed by their table and sat on the accompanying bench with Suigetsu, Jugo, Neji, and other guys.

She would win. She was Karin, after all.

* * *

_**A/N: Done. Done. My back is aching, my hands are sore from typing. But yeah, I did the chapter in one go, even if it's a bit late x( it's long, **_**I**_** think, but dunno about you.**_

_**So, weekend's up! 'Sup with you guys? Cuz I'm just loaded with so much work I can't even enjoy it. Humph. **_

_**And hey, you know the name of the previous chapie, Refresh Button? I actually got the inspiration for the chap from my biology teacher. We're always sleepy in her class so she always says "press your refresh button and open up those old folders in your brain". And there I had the Idea Spark! Lol (she also tells us to eat chocolates or some snack in her class so we would be energized and won't sleep. she's a fun teacher :D)**_

**Notice:**

I made a change in the prologue. The date is actually "6th January, 2012". It has to be correct, as you will get to know in the coming chapters. And in the chapter 1, Kurenai actually says "you've missed your whole sophomore year, even if you were homeschooled." my mistake. Sorry about that_.c_

_**Did you like the chapter? I hope so. Please Review! Don't leave me! **_

_**Yours,**_

_**berryboom**_


	4. Aide Memoire

**Homecoming Queen**

**BB**

* * *

_In my beginning is my end. _

…

_ … _

**Chapter 3**

**Aide Memoire**

…

…

* * *

As soon as the Uchiha dropped his eyes in indifference and strolled away to his table of friends, I found myself snapping out of the fixture of old memories that had me in a trance.

I could hear the fuss around the noisy cafeteria. But where I sat, there was a pregnant silence.

Tenten and Kiba regarded me with friendly curiosity; Hinata just stared into her plate of macaroni, Choji was eating slowly, _really_ slowly, his tiny eyes fixed on me.

Naruto goggled, Ino had a knowing look.

"What?" I asked self-consciously.

Tenten chuckled lightly and gestured subtly to the faraway table where _he_ sat. "You and Uchiha having a glaring contest, huh? What's he done?"

I found myself twitching with irritation. "Nothing," I muttered, and bit off a large section of my pizza which was freezing cold by now.

Suddenly, I saw that _every _one of them wore those annoying, meaningful expressions with amusement in their eyes and chuckles on their lips, which made me want to a) bolt b) throw my lunch in their faces.

"I don't think it was a glaring contest, Ten," Ino said, a mischievous sparkle in her aquamarine pools. "Rather, it was a _staring_ contest."

Ino! Talk about getting the wrong idea.

Kiba frowned and shook his head. "The way Sakura was glaring at him: well, it was kind of scary."

I felt a fierce pleasure striking my discomfit at that. _If looks could kill_, the phrase popped in my mind, I'd happily make use of that sinless way of homicide.

"Oh, it'll pass," Ino said indifferently, leaning back in her chair, one finger twirling a lock of her fine, blonde hair. "But there seems a connection there, don'cha think?"

Naruto, who hadn't spoken anything since, piped up eagerly. "You guys should definitely hang out! Dark and light—"

"Hey, it doesn't mean that!" Kiba said loudly.

"Why are _you_ getting so hot?" Naruto considered Kiba with disgust, and then looked back at me. "He's in my Math class. He's a bastard, but he's okay. He's fine," he tacked it in the end, apparently wanting to make a good impression of the subject.

I gawped at him. How could he have forgotten so easily? How he could he forgotten the moments where he had narrowly missed being choked, beaten to death by that demented version of the Uchiha? Frankly, the way he was speaking now about the latter, it indicated nothing but friendliness, if not that, then pleasant familiarity.

Naruto's big blue sapphires were open and clear, and I could see none of the old hatred in it. Such a scatterbrained boy.

He was calm and joyful, and I was bothered. I had been distressed for such a long time about that first of the subsequent incidents. The thing that had haunted me—that manic look in the Uchiha's eyes as they beat each other up—it didn't seem to affect Naruto at all.

I didn't know what to feel for this happy-go-lucky blond: exasperation or affection.

"Okay, Naruto, we get your point," Ino was saying with an air of finishing the conversation and starting another—probably one of her gossips and boys—and I was glad.

But my relief evaporated when I identified the look in her eye. That mischief.

I groaned inwardly. Ino was _never _going to leave me alone.

* * *

The excited crowd of students gathered in front of the school bulletin board was boisterous and loud enough that I could hear them as the five of us—I, Naruto, Ino, Tenten, and Hinata—elevated to the fifth floor. Anyone could easily pinpoint that most of the concentration was female.

"'Sup with that, you think?" Naruto said, cocking his head to one side.

Ino strutted past him, partially knocking him over and earning a disapproving grunt, and pushed her way into the crowd. I hesitated, and then steeled myself.

As I sidled beside Ino, I found her in apparent bliss and excitement. Her aquamarines sparkled as if she was already fantasizing in another world, and then she grabbed me by both shoulders, taking me aback.

"Look!" I looked. The green bulletin board, decorated with the standard leaves and school notices, news, date sheets, time tables, etcetera, now displayed a flashing golden yellow flyer, which contrasted hugely with the other dour colors of navy, black and white. On large red letters was inscribed:

**THE HOMECOMING DANCE**

**KONOHA HIGH SCHOOL**

**6****TH**** OCTOBER, 2013**

**SATURDAYNIGHT, 8 P.M.**

_THIS TIME IT'S THE __JUNIOR__ YEAR TO BE CROWNED _

_TO PREPARE FOR THIS BRILLIANT EVENT AND THE CORONATION OF OUR NEW HOMECOMING KING AND QUEEN, THERE IS GOING TO COMMENCE A "HOMECOMING WEEK"_

_VOTES WILL BE PUT FOR THE CHOSEN CANDIDATES, THE NAMES OF WHICH SHALL BE GIVEN IN WITH CONSENT, AND COUNTED BEFORE THE CORONATION CEREMONIES AND THE DANCE. AS AN UPSHOT TO THE CEREMONY, THERE WILL BE A NIGHT GALA AND A BONFIRE TO CELEBRATE, ON 5__TH__ OCTOBER, FRIDAY NIGHT, 7 P.M._

_MAY THE BEST BOY AND GIRL WIN THIS IMPORTANT POSITION._

—V.P. SHIZUNE

—KHS DANCE COMMITTEE

Ah. I understood there and then why Ino was so overexcited, and the next words out of her mouth were quite expectable—

"I'm participating, and I'm gonna win!"

I tried pointing out a major blockage to her, because being fully familiar with Ino's nature as a former rival as well as best friend, I knew that she would want me to tag along with her. And I was in no mood, especially since this was my first day after a whole absent year. I needed to settle before jumping in competitions.

Besides, how would I win? Being Homecoming Queen proved that you were acknowledged by all, the teachers, the council and the students, and I wasn't—

_No_! I realized with a sudden resounding crash in my head that hauled me back to my present. That was the old Sakura. The one who always felt inferior and in the process _really_ made herself inferior.

So perhaps I really could do it. If Ino voiced her likely suggestion.

"Hey, don't you need to be picked up by the council?" I asked. This was almost certainly the toughest thing that could come in the way.

She was still staring at the flyer, her sea-colored eyes shining as she probably contemplated the glamorous possibility of placing the crown on her blonde head.

"Yeah, you do! And don't worry…" She grinned slyly. "I've tried all year to be in their good books. Besides, I have this feeling. I will be chosen."

I rolled my eyes. "That's Naruto's line."

"Hey, hey!" She jumped around and grabbed my shoulders, digging her long manicured fingernails in my top. "Why don't we both sign up?"

See?

"I think I need time to settle down—"

"Oh you don't," she said offhandedly. "You're a genius, Haruno. _Every_ teacher around knows that. You just need the votes from the people, which you'll get. The council counts more, and it's done. We'll both go, and then there'll be rivalry, sister! What do you say?"

_Unless Karin and her accomplices are on the council_, I thought venomously.

Then I shrugged, letting out a breath. I had already decided it. "'Kay. I'm open."

"Seriously?" She seemed pretty surprised I had caved in so quickly. She narrowed her eyes shrewdly at me for all of a millisecond, and then relaxed, turning away from the crowd.

"You really _are_ changed. I'm sort of glad."

* * *

Ah, the last hour.

The vestibule was swarming with noisy, boisterous students, bumping into each other and laughing their heads off, chatting, slamming lockers shut with thunderous bangs. The air was suffused with the usual smell of a high school—where all from freshmen to seniors are puberty-going or fully matured—perspiration, grunge, chemicals, paint and whatnot mixed into one particular odor, the heaviest of which was perfume and body mist.

I wrinkled my nose as I swept pass a tall, bubbly cheerleader literally bathing herself in deodorant, and somehow it felt really repellent. I knew I would be able to breathe more freely as the place vacated.

Walking towards my locker, I felt more positive than ever—my first day had gone grand. _I_ was doing great. And this was the first chapter of my new life which was going to be ruined by _no_ one.

I positively dismissed the peeks, interested glances, ogles, or any glares if any—and I could not lie to myself: I relished it.

_Maybe _I_ am becoming cheerleader material_, I thought wryly.

Immersed in my thoughts, I didn't notice how the stench of the hallway was getting stronger by the passing second. I was one step away from my locker when it became overwhelming, and I covered my nose with one hand. What on earth, did they forget to clean up garbage spills or what?

The moment I twisted my combination lock and pulled open the metal door—it fell.

It fell on my new white boots, and I thought I would explode the next second—whether from revulsion, or anger, or hate, I did not know.

The locker was completely trashed. My book-bag was on the floor of the locker, half of my books spilling out and the navy blues and greens of the hardbacks were now disgustingly decorated in crimson. The whole of it was painted red, and the stench was overpowering. My first wild thought was ketchup—someone went crazy with gallons of ketchup—because it did smell like rotten tomatoes.

The feeble, dead remains of a gray rat half-smeared with red lay on my feet. Its beady eyes stared up at mine, its tiny head lolling on the floor—neck slashed open like with a cat's vicious claw.

I couldn't tell how much of the red substance in my locker was sauce and how much of it was the corpse's blood. All other thoughts vanished from my brain as I staggered backward, kicking at the feeble little thing until it hit the wall, and clamped my hands over my stomach as the nausea swept over me, making me gag.

"Holy shit, what's that? You okay?"

"Ew, a rat! Gross!"

"Sakura-san! What happened to my floral embodiment of youth?"

"Shut up, Lee! Look at the state of her—gah!"

The noises faded in and out of focus as I tried to keep in the urge to heave and retch, all the while gulping in sharp breaths to drive away the stink. I swallowed, as the nausea gradually passed.

Thank _God_ I didn't throw up.

An arm supported my back, warm and comforting, and shortly after, Ino's voice followed. "You okay, Sak? What happened here?"

I could not bring myself to glance back at my scarlet locker, but I did. It was a moment before I brought myself together. "I—I don't know. Someone—"

I looked around at the loose circle of people. The hallway was half-empty now, and as I watched, some of the students pinched the bridge of their noses and sending apologetic glances in my direction, skidded away. Among the ones around me were Ino, Tenten, Rock Lee, Kiba, and…a new guy.

Lee, also a fellow junior back from old times, hovered over me, his neat, bowl-cut hair a glossy black and his round eyes were wide with concern as he fired queries at me about what had occurred. Normally I would have snubbed him on his frequent tries at a conversation about 'how is the springtime of your youth going, Sakura-san?', 'Will you bless me with your youthful presence this evening?', 'you look youthful as ever, beautiful Sakura!', but right now I didn't have the strength.

My unease and annoyance wasn't directed at him. A feeling in my gut, queasy and disturbingly familiar, was troubling me more.

Tenten and Kiba had wandered over to the mess, noses wrinkled as they speculated. Ino handed me her bottle of water which I gulped down in one huge swig. Feeling better, I forced my knees to stand straight and succeeded.

"Who would do this to you, my youthful cherry blossom, on your first day at this youthful school?" Lee was asking, and it was all I could do to disregard him.

"My stuff is ruined," I mumbled.

Ino grimaced. "I don't envy you. Well, you'll have to buy more, because I think it has soaked in to the depths of your bag."

"How weird," said a new, monotone voice and I instantly looked towards my right. Just a few feet away, there was the new person standing, I hadn't seen him ever before. His hair was an inky backdrop against a face as pale as a ghost—as if he had spent several years hidden from the touches of sunlight. He was tall and strong-looking, but still, slender, his chin cupped in one pale white hand as he gazed at the chaotic scene—and I couldn't help thinking he had a resemblance to Uchiha Sasuke.

There was something in his flat black, hooded eyes, and all the same, there was nothing.

They seemed blank—and mysterious all the same.

An unexpected shiver passed through me—more because of his flat, inflectionless eyes than the aftermath of the shock—as I looked away. Kiba shouted at that very instant.

"Sakura! There's something written here!"

I sucked in a sharp breath, and pushed away Kiba a little bit forcefully to get a better look. I had not taken notice of anything but the dead remains of the rat and the red floor before I nearly retched, but now I looked more closely.

I heard Ino gasp and Tenten take a step backward.

On the background of gray metal, block capitals in the striking shade of crimson which could be either the tomato or the rat's blood, were inscribed. A harebrained message—a greeting, and a warning.

**PUNISHMENT IS FOR THOSE WHO FORGET, YOU RAT…**

…**SAKURA HARUNO.**

* * *

I slammed the door behind me and leant.

My hands were crossed over my heart, an unknowing gesture, while I leant against the door, and slowly slid down until I was sitting on the marble. I had taken the bus and arrived home, dazed. But as soon as my feet crossed the grass of my well-furnished front garden, my instincts caused me to run and run until I reached the safety of my own bedroom in my huge, empty house.

I knew who was behind it. Memories popped up from deep, compressed recesses of my mind, and I remembered what a major mistake it was not to heed a warning—

I clamped my hands over my pink locks. _No, no, no—don't go there_.

But wasn't this exactly what the message had warned me about?

Punishment is for those who forget. I had been trying to forget all my past, clean myself of the contamination and humiliation that I had become used to feeling under pressure, and begin a new life.

They wanted me to remember.

I didn't realize that I was digging my fingers into my scalp, my nails passing through hair to skin, hard enough to bring beads of blood. It was the pain that made me realize—that I had already begun my new life, free of past. Wasn't that what I was thinking today?

And I would be damned if I let history repeat itself. This time, it had to be in my hands.

Not Karin's.

* * *

** Yamanaka Ino **

Ino was very worried as she dialed the number in hurried, practiced movements and pressed the phone to her ear.

"_The number you have dialed is not responding at the moment. Please—_"

Damn. She threw the sleek mobile phone on her bed. She had been trying to contact Sakura since she left the school. When they discovered the note written in crimson substance, Ino had thought about the dead rat, the red locker, and the note as a joke. Perhaps someone had tried to pull a mean prank at Sakura since she was new at school for the junior year, and this wasn't unusual. Actually, there was a history of student lockers being trashed just for fun, as trickery. It was the oldest trick down the road, though possibly the meanest.

However when she had glanced at Sakura's petrified profile, as she read and reread the note, she had done a double take: the rosette's emerald eyes were huge with an inflection that could easily be identified as utmost terror. Her lip trembling, eyes wide, her hands clutched to her chest, she had never looked so vulnerable and so frightened.

And then in the next second, she was running down the hall and into the parking lot. Ino followed, along with Lee, while the others fetched the school hygiene caretaker. But she had only reached the parking lot when she noticed Sakura clambering onto a bus that was full and it instantly drove away, roaring as it sped down the road.

She had told Lee not to mention it to the others, and left. On the way, she had left as many messages on Sakura's number as she could, with a large number of calls which were futile, as they weren't answered.

_Damn, Sakura! Pick up the phone!_

Something was off beam, Ino felt sure.

* * *

**Unidentified**

It lay in waiting. It was patient, because it had learned life's most important lessons—wrath is fire, fire is wrath, and it is the most powerful weapon. And to work this weapon…patience is mandatory. An inevitable spark to gasoline would consume everything in its path, but only if it were to be released at a time.

Yes. Time. Time was what it had hated, and time was what it now needed—time, whether it be past, present or future, was its only company in this sinisterly dark corner where it had been imprisoned.

* * *

**A/N: My sincerest apologies for being late. Reviews are delicious. **

**berryboom**


	5. Falling Into Patterns

**Homecoming Queen**

* * *

_Yesterday is but today's memory, and tomorrow is today's dream._

…_  
_

…

**Chapter 4 **

**Falling Into Patterns**

…

…

* * *

_5__th__ September, 2013_

"Where _were_ you?"

The minute I placed my foot inside the school's main vestibule on Tuesday, my white messenger bag slung across one shoulder bulging with the new backup textbooks that Mahiru supplied me with—bless her—Yamanaka Ino's high trill, marred with her apparent annoyance, greeted me.

"I called you, like, a zillion times, _again_! And you didn't text, or call me back even once, to at least confirm that you were alive—!" She threw her accusations at me, as I walked inside slowly to my locker and then stopped a foot away from it warily.

Ino studied my apprehension and then rolled her eyes. "They took care of it."

"Oh." I nodded, and twisted the combination lock, to find that my tiny storeroom was indeed, spick and span, without any proof that it had been painted crimson yesterday. There was no other odor except that of metal. I sighed in relief.

"You didn't answer my question!"

I plunked my bag inside wearily and extracted my new first period books, spines stiff and hard. "What was that again?"

"Why'd you go running away?" Ino asked sharply.

I closed the locker. "The smell—it was getting to me," I reasoned, as if the blonde was supposed to be my nanny and I was to answer her. "I feel better now."

"You could at least—"

"Let's just forget it, okay?" I suggested, as I had no patience to keep conversing and answering questions concerning an issue I was trying to disregard. "C'mon, we're going to be late."

Her only response was a huff as she overtook me and proceeded towards our first class.

* * *

The first week at Konoha High School went by a lot easier, overlooking the grisly tidings of the first day. I was expecting some anxiety and dilemmas as I readjusted to a routine that I used to follow in more miserable times, but my expectations were marked wrong. I blended in with the schedules, the old and the new groups, studies, friends, teachers, and I was jubilant to find that I was in all the teachers' and the Principal's good books, which is usually something to get you beat up in the hallways, but it would make my chances as a Homecoming Queen nominee a lot easier.

I knew the core to it—that I had started to mingle in with others. The old me would train her eyes on the floor and exhibit an aura that clearly said 'please leave me alone' and that was why I _was_ left alone by those I would like to be with. And of course I had attracted the wrong sort of attention.

Confidence—if I used it, I got more on principle. And so life at Konoha High elapsed effortlessly.

I was introduced to numerous juniors by Naruto and Ino, who were my best friends even then and now. Trapped between two rays of sunshine on a cloudy day, both warm and bubbling with happiness and hearsay, even though they were too loud and annoying sometimes, I felt fortunate.

I met Hozuki Suigetsu, a tall, thin boy with straight hair of an unusual shade of periwinkle, careless and sporting a mischievous, cute smile all the time; he had an obsession with weapons, particularly ancient ones and swords. The only mutual thing between us was that we both despised Karin, though I did not say that to him, and I could only think of two logics—she was bitchy, and she had dumped him sometime.

"…she's head over heels for that cold bastard, the Uchiha," he affirmed, and I wasn't a bit surprised by it, so I didn't flinch. "Was too. I decided they deserve each other," he grinned slyly, his adorable, particular grin. "They're going out now."

Then there was Jugo, a muscular one, with broad arms and flaming, vivid hair that stood up from his forehead like steel wool. He was quiet, and had the kindest eyes, and as Suigetsu confirmed, he had a reverence to nature and animals. I particularly liked him, but kept my distance, because he was almost always accompanied with the Uchiha. I didn't really want to be in contact with Sasuke; however the other sometimes looked at me, and there was confusion in his eyes. These moments were rare, though: I tended to keep away.

Aburame Shino was Kiba's friend; like the latter loved canines, the former was obsessed with insects. I couldn't think why—and the spiky brown-haired boy, his eyes hidden behind sunglasses he never took off, did not elaborate much, except saying: "They're living beings, too." Nonetheless, this reason seemed to be quite illogical to the fact that he actually played with bugs; one day, I did see him with a centipede wriggling on his finger, and reserved myself after that. Ladybirds and butterflies were one thing—but worms and bugs?

Ino invited me to a girl's night out on Saturday. We went shopping out in the malls, ate at some fancy restaurant in downtown Konoha, and met some other girls. Shy, gentle Hinata was there, along with Tenten. Hinata introduced me to her sister, a small petite brunette named Hanabi, who was also interested in the Homecoming competition. A redhead called Matsuri also accompanied us, and she shared the same interest. However, most of time she prattled about some guy she liked, called Gaara something, who studied in Hidden Leaves Secondary, another high school. Her infatuation with him overlooked, she was over all a nice girl.

Sabaku No Temari was the so-called Gaara's sister, a beautiful college student, tall and slender, with her hair in four blonde pigtails. I did not know why, but I sensed that Ino resented her. She didn't speak to her directly, and when she did, it threatened rudeness in every syllable. And it was with an air of gladness that Temari left early with another one of her brothers—a guy wearing a hood and strange purple makeup, that made him look far from feminine.

Those were just the ones that I remembered among all the students my friends introduced me to. In short, I was getting well-conversed and communal within the junior society, and didn't begrudge a hand to those younger ones who needed help, to those who stuck up a conversation with me. I didn't have to try—it all came easily to me.

The three that I kept my distance from, Karin, Kin and Tayuya, did not mess with me again. Although our occasional encounters consisted of nothing but pointed glares and scowls, they did not exchange any words with me. Perhaps it was because I kept away from the possession Karin kept most precious—namely, her so-called _boyfriend_—she and her cronies seemed to deem it best to leave me alone. Anyhow, I was glad to get out of their way.

But it wasn't easy—the second week, I literally ran into him.

* * *

_12th September, 2013_

"Ouch—what the hell—"

The armload consisting of my Physics book, various manuscripts, my assignments, tumbled onto the floor with resounding bumps as I bumped into hard muscles covered by fabric, my head colliding and sending a wave of pain through my whole skull. The first thing that popped to my mind was that I had probably broken my brain, but this ridiculous thought was covered up when I realized I had bumped it into someone. While I swore, I looked up.

Onyx eyes stared down on me, a flash of purple in the black as they gazed at me in confusion and annoyance. His dark hair obscured parts of his eyes, and he brushed them away. I realized his hands were braced on the tops of my arms.

"—sorry," I finished, and tore away from his grasp to pick up my books. He bent down before I could, and soon he had stacked the numerous volumes and the files in a pile with one white hand.

"Watch where you're going," said Uchiha Sasuke. He peered at the top of the stack, and then looked back at me. "You have Physics right now? It's in my way."

"Oh. Thank you," I muttered as he turned and inclined his head as a gesture for me to follow him. I hesitated—I did want to keep my distance from him, after all—but then shrugged, steeling myself. I followed him as he carried my books—how civilized—to Asuma's lab.

"Which is your class?" I asked to break the silence as we ascended upstairs.

"History," he replied, and then frowned, a line appearing between his fine eyebrows. "What's your name?"

"Erm…" So he still had not recognized me, but I decided it wouldn't harm _me_ either way. "Sakura."

I waited for his reaction. He looked sideways at me, his eyebrows furrowed again, and in his obsidian orbs there was confusion instead of recognition, and I realized it would be idiocy to think the Uchiha would remember someone as invisible as I was in the previous time. Not recognizing me was understandable, but the confusion in his eyes—it was incomprehensible to me.

He stared for a moment and then shook his head, as if dismissing a thought. "Oh. I thought you looked familiar."

Wow, that's the statement of the year, Uchiha Sasuke.

"Maybe," I allowed. "Here's my class."

And then with an act of civilization that could only be possible in the chivalrous past, he opened the door for me and when I was inside, he handed me the books, nodded once and then turned his back, hands stowed in the pockets of his jeans, to walk away.

I swerved to face the noisy hustle bustle of the class and was glad to see that nobody had noticed.

* * *

_16th September__, 2013_

"Oi, Sakura!"

Ino came running at me on Monday after the recess when I was just leaving for my biology class, big surprise. Of us four, Hinata, Tenten, Ino and I, only I was the one who had volunteered to study biology and medical sciences, while Tenten and Ino were into computer science, and Hinata would be going for textile industry, though Ino was on the verge of joining the latter in her subject.

She skidded to a stop in front of me, her aquamarine jewels shining with excitement as she brushed back her sleek blonde hair and looked at me, practically jumping for joy. "You won't believe what just happened!"

"What?" I asked suspiciously.

"Shizune called us! Both of us, to her office!"

Huh? I felt confused. The Vice Principal usually called students to her offices for either detention, or serious topics. And she usually prowled the hallways and checked into classrooms at least once a day to watch the progresses; why would she call me and Ino…?

"We're not in trouble, are we?" I asked, a tad bit worried as I followed Ino to the bottom floor and the administrative area. She didn't reply except twitching in impatience and excitement, and I was left to my own concerns. But before I could give it much thought, we were standing in front of the wooden door with the inscription on a silver plate saying 'Shizune, Vice Principal.'

Ino twisted the door knob and entered, while I was right at her heels.

I had visited Shizune's office only once, and that was long ago. It hadn't changed; the first adjective that came to my mind when I stepped inside the office was how it looked elegant in a businesslike way: the walls were white, clashing with the dark black, shaggy carpet below my feet; the chairs lined at the right side were made of sleek, shiny black leather, and while the left side was empty, its wall sported a soft board with flyers and reports pinned neatly and orderly. In front of the huge glass window covered by white blinds was her black and silver polished glass table, with papers and files piled on one end, a globe, and various writing assortments in the academic colors of black, navy and white. The only colorful item was the indoor plant set beside on the table's left, its leaves shining green and the small white buds and flowers gleaming in the radiance of white fluorescence.

Shizune herself was seated behind the table, her hands folded beneath her chin. Her short black hair was cut into a stylish sharp bob with bangs that called attention to her dark eyes. Since her expression did not seem at all disturbed, perturbed or angry, I decided we were indeed not in trouble.

However, we weren't alone.

Sitting on the chairs on our right were four girls I recognized straight away: to my closest was Hyuga Hanabi, Hinata's sister, with the same pearly lavender eyes and long hair, though hers were brown; next was Matsuri, the one I had met on our night out in the mall, with the red hair and prominent features, along with an open, ever happy expression.

I failed to recognize the girl sitting next; I was sure I had never seen her before. Her blonde hair were cut short to her chin, with a straight-angled fringe brushing across her forehead; her eyes were a startling shade of blue, and she had—well, a very massive and easily curvaceous bosom the cambers of which clearly showed even though she wore very reserved clothes.

Tsuchi Kin glared at me from her seat at the furthest, her black hair in their usual loose style. Her dark grey eyes bore into mine with detached coldness, and she didn't seem to comprehend why I was here with them any more than I did myself.

Tearing my eyes away from hers, I looked towards the vice principal as she bade both of us enter.

"Good," declared Shizune, "All of you are here. Sit down, Ino, Sakura." When we complied, she continued. "Well, girls, I'm pleased to inform you, that the choices of the Student Council are in, and you six have been selected as the Homecoming Queen nominees—"

All around me were gasps, followed by much uncivilized girlish squeals and giggles that did not belong in the professional interior and atmosphere of Shizune's workplace. Matsuri, as happy and excited a girl as she was, jumped to her feet.

"That's awesome!" She cried merrily, and Ino seemed to be close to following her example as she brimmed with unconcealed excitement and gushed, "I knew it!" She was practically beside herself in elation. Hanabi smiled genuinely, and Kin smirked in her usual haughty way. The blonde, however, remained inflectionless and only allowed a twitch of her lips as response to the news. Perhaps she was as reserved as her outfit suggested.

I, however, couldn't help it as a huge smile broke out on my face, threatening to burst my cheekbones. I had been selected! Well, it was exactly how Ino had predicted, that my good grades and reputation in teachers' eyes, and my mannerism had got me chosen by the council itself. I could just hope for the votes of the whole junior population—though it would be overstepping the mark.

"Girls!" Shizune waved a hand in a warning gesture to remain civilized in her authoritative area. The females to my side succumbed to thrilled silence at once as she resumed, "You have been chosen on the basis of your grades, your academic record, and your reputation.

"Haruno Sakura," she gestured to me, "…of course you missed your sophomore year but your entry test for resubmission was perfect as always and your current progress shows your strong academic position. And Samui has also showed herself to be of considerable talent," she toasted the blonde with her expression, who merely nodded, "…even though she is transferred here as an exchange student from Kumo High.

"You all have been chosen, and then the voting ceremony will decide who is to deserve the crown of the Homecoming Queen. It will be a grand responsibility, as you shall be informed later. The names are already being put down on the main notice board as we speak. Now it's all up to you. May the better girl win."

With an air of finality, she smiled to all six of us and finished, "…You are dismissed."

As soon as I and Ino loped out of the office, the others already making a beeline for their various classrooms, the blonde yelled loudly towards the ceiling, her arms outstretched. "I _knew_ it; I knew this was the time—!"

"Ino, be _quiet_!" I growled, grabbing her arm and pulling her into an empty corridor that led to the stairs to the upper rooms, because I had indeed heard a furious voice issuing from behind the closed door to Shizune's house calling "Girls!" so we had to make a quick escape.

As we ascended to the upper floor, Ino was gushing. "Omigosh, I'm gonna tell Ten and Hinata right away! Oi, oi, Sakura, what do you say we go to see our names right now? The bell's gonna ring, _every_one will be there soon!"

"Okay, okay," I nodded quickly, worried about having to tether Ino to the surface of the Earth while she continued to fly in her joy.

"I can't believe it," she began again and then suddenly veered backwards; I narrowly avoided bumping into her. Déjà vu. I quirked an eyebrow, questioning why she had stopped.

"…Speaking of unbelievable, I can't believe I forgot," and there was a mischievous sparkle in her blue eyes that I instantly mistrusted. "…Spill! Who was that chivalrous guy who escorted you to the Biology classroom on last Thursday, I had been meaning to ask you that so long. Because maybe I'm nearsighted or something, but he did look like Uchiha Sasuke!"

Damn. And I thought that little episode of ours had gone unnoticed. I sighed in dismay.

* * *

"…I only asked him what his next class was, and that was pretty much the conversation we had before he _escorted me to the Biology classroom_," I mimicked Ino's voice at the end. We were now walking towards the school bulletin board on the first floor.

"Please, Sakura, give me some details!"

"There aren't—"But I was spared any further confessing as we reached the lobby: the bell had not rung yet so there was not much of a crowd around the board. The only ones standing there were Matsuri, in a corner, and Kin and Karin flanking the middle. At the sound of our footsteps, the two of them turned around, and soon enough their expressions were replaced by derision as expected.

"Why, it's Haruno _Suck_ura," Kin sneered hatefully as Ino and I arrived. Matsuri caught my eye and grinned, flashing thumbs-up. "Good luck for the competition!" She called as she walked away.

I waved back at her and then totally disregarding a certain twosome on my right, I scanned the yellow paper in the middle of the board, catchy as always in its red print. Below the bold and capitalized heading of 'Homecoming Queen Nominees' was the list of our names in alphabetical order: Azame Matsuri, Haruno Sakura, Hyuga Hanabi, Rai Samui, Tsuchi Kin and Yamanaka Ino. Judging the look of Ino's face, she did not like being listed in the bottom even if the names were in an order. I suppressed a grin.

"Stop glaring at her," Ino said suddenly, and I turned my attention away from the board. She was looking at Karin, who hastily removed her fiery yet cold eyes from mine and considered her. "What's it to you, Yamanaka?"

Ino huffed, and seemed to be ready to explode. I put a hand on her arm to warn her, and stepped forward, gazing into the faces I hated. "Mind your own business."

"Ooh," Kin faked a surprised laugh, her hand flying to her mouth. She turned to Karin. "You never told me she could speak! But of course," she stared back at me, "she must have done a lot of talking to get into the list of candidates. That's a feat, I guess, for _her_."

Neither Ino nor I could overlook the degrading inflection in her loud voice, full of contempt and scorn. I felt a boiling feeling set up in my stomach with had nothing to do with acidity or nausea. I clenched my fingers at my side. I did not look back at Kin, but stared at Karin. Her blazing red eyes depicted nothing but ice cold hatred for me; why was it that even though I had started to keep away from her so-called love of life she deemed so precious to even inflict violence at being interfered with, that she resented me so much? Of course, I had many reasons of my own for _my_ hatred and _my_ antipathy, and then they were strong enough. Why was she…?

The memory of an old cabin hidden in the undergrowth jumped to my memory, dark and sinisterly covered with branches creeping on its roof like skeletal hands: I quickly dismissed it from my mind, not wanting to remember. It was soon replaced by the auditorium in which I had given my speech that day, and then the red-splattered locker with the dead rat tumbling out of it in slow motion.

Why?

She still burned her eyes into me with ferocity. Suddenly, a thought struck my mind. Had she somehow seen me at that little encounter with the Uchiha? Even though it was nothing short of a casual come-across, I could expect Karin to delude herself into thinking something was going on. Yikes, she really was the ultimate epitome of jealousy.

"…You'll be humiliating yourself at the coronation, Haruno. You won't even fit as the princess of the court, I'm pretty sure," Kin was saying, completely ignoring the seething form of Ino. Her words were tasteless and meaningless to me; she could believe whatever she wanted, and maybe someday I would pop her self-important bubble. Maybe. To me, Kin had been nothing but a faded version of Karin as a crony and a bully, and she would remain like that however much we were bitter towards each other.

"Okay, I'll see you there, then," I replied coolly, grabbed Ino's arm and steered her away before any of them could answer. For only a fraction of a second, I peered over my shoulder and glimpsed Karin's catlike profile: her fiery eyes still glowered hatefully at my retreating figure. I hurried away.

Creepy.

* * *

I walked out of the school after dismissal. I had an extra half hour spent with Kurenai sensei about some problems I had not understood and which were included in tomorrow's chemistry test. The sun was bright and enjoyable above my head as I descended the steps and set foot on the footpath leading to the parking lot. Shielding my eyes from the glare with a hand, I looked around the gardens, separated by paths leading to the buildings. There was no one around; though I had expected people to be, given the warmer day in the fall season.

Ino had already left, seething with anger at our faceoff with Karin and Kin ("I'm going to pummel them, you wait! Bitches!"), and I felt it was better she be left alone. She could be really hostile sometimes, and I wasn't in mood of taking up another argument, or specifically, more violence.

My gaze landed on one figure sitting on a bench beneath the arch made by two old maple trees, casting their cool shadow below. I recognized the deathly pallor and the black hair right away—in the glow of sunshine, his face seemed a little less ashen, as he stared onto a notebook in his hands, a pencil poised in midair. What was he doing here, after almost everyone had left, with this notebook of his? Frankly, I _could_ imagine him being away from all the chaos and noises of the school and single-handed, by himself: the scene just suited him, however sad it seemed that he was kind of left alone. I had seen it when I saw him first.

Curiosity overtaking my hesitance, I made my way towards him.

* * *

**Sai**

He was sitting on the bench in the school gardens; he had needed a place to concentrate and had chosen it specifically. Everyone had left, and the place was peacefully calm. The sun felt warm where it caressed his hands, though it could never darken the skin.

"Wow, that's amazing."

Sai did a double take and looked up. Sakura was standing beside him, her hands braced against her knees as she peered into his sketchbook, an expression of wonder on her delicate features. "You're an artist, Sai!" She exclaimed.

Sai smiled mechanically. "Thank you. That's what I'd like to be."

He gazed at his sketch pad. It was a colorful scene of a spring day captured onto a paper: a field of flowers of cherry blossoms, lavender and freesia. The backdrop was the blue spring sky, complete with realistic white fluffs of clouds. He had been drawing the figure of a person amid the field, sitting between stalks of flowers; it wasn't complete yet.

"You should take Visual Arts as your subject then."

"I have," he affirmed.

"Oh." She sat beside him on the bench and pointed at the half-drawn figure in between inquiringly.

Sai smiled. "I don't know…I only just starting drawing her."

"Oh, so it's a girl!"

"It's nothing like that," he hastily corrected. "Yeah, though."

She beamed at him, tucking one pink lock behind her ear. Looking at her, Sai couldn't help the twinge of guilt and regret twisting his stomach tight. He wasn't used to such emotions; he usually overlooked everything he did.

But as he observed Sakura's delicate, dainty profile and the open expression as she praised his artwork, he couldn't help feeling so. He had assisted in _it_, never blinked an eye as he carried out their orders in mere benefit for himself. Even though he had turned back to compensate his actions, he thought he could never forgive himself. Whenever he saw Sakura, he felt the same sentiments.

Guilt. Regret.

He wished he never had a part in it.

* * *

**Uchiha Sasuke**

He saw her.

He observed her when she wasn't looking, because he wanted to sate that confusion and curiosity that she seemed so familiar to him. He had never seen anyone else before who had that vivid, eye-catching color of light red hair, but he certainly had seen someone with those big emerald eyes and the petite figure.

Sakura. Even her name seemed familiar.

As he walked the girl to her classroom, he actually had desired to ask her, to talk to her, so he would perhaps know her. The disturbing way with which she had glared at him on her first day still made him uneasy and curious, and he sensed as if he was missing something.

Sakura. There was another girl back in his freshman year, his first year at KHS, Haruno Sakura. She had those green eyes that he had instantly been appealed to, even though they were partially obscured by the thick black spectacles she used to don…but she had left.

Suddenly, a realization that should have hit him so long ago, made him put the two pictures side by side. The way she had stared fiercely at him…

…the same way Haruno Sakura's eyes had been, hot emerald stones, jerking his hand away from the broken boy in that downpour on the road, so many months ago.

He _knew_ her.

* * *

**A/N**: _I'm dying to write chapter 5 & 6!_

_**Please review. You too, my dear silent readers. I'd love to hear your thoughts. X)**_


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